And be one traveler, long I stood

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie had heard some incredibly disturbing rumors when she had been shopping at the grocery store. Something about that "Phoenix boy" being lead around by a leash. Percie tried not to care but quickly lost that battle with herself. She had edged close to enraged within the few minutes she stood in line trying to convince herself that whatever happened between Oriel and Phen wasn't any of her business. She'd paid for her items and tossed them into her car with a little more force than necessary and slammed the door angrily as she started her engine and drove back to her business and personal living space. She counted to a thousand and then two as she put her things away and tried to get some work down and failed miserably.

Since she wasn't going to get any more work done until she'd worked off some of this extra agitated energy she went out to the pet store to see if she could have a word with Phoenix and see if there was anything new she could get out of him for her report to Derek and decided that walking to the pet store would help her work off some of that energy. Picking up her purse and exiting her house she walked briskly down the street, her heels clipping imperiously as she stood tall over most of the other town residents. She had a feeling she might need that extra height today. There was also something about the way her body felt when she stood in heels that made her feel more confident and dare she say...powerful.

As she approached the pet store where Phoenix worked she found herself not surprised to see Oriel approaching from the opposite direction. She maneuvered herself into his way and stared down at him severely. "I'd like to speak with you, privately," she requested sharply. If she was lucky, lippy Oriel would be curious, or at least see this as a grand opportunity to belittle her (which seemed to be something he was fond of doing) and come with her for the few minutes she needed to give him a piece of her mind. Phoenix might not be her client explicitly but Derek was paying her to watch him, she did NOT need him asking questions about why his son was being lead around the town with a leash and collar. She enjoyed paying her bills and having utilities.

[Deleted]

After the whole leash incident(and a very effective private punishing that he was certain got the point across to his skinny lover), Oriel had backed off a little from the protective sphere he had around Phoenix. Very little. As in…he had the leash on standby, but only wanted to use it for threatening purposes. Once was enough, he thought, to persuade Phoenix into minding Oriel’s concerns for him and keep him from acting out and wandering off like a 5 year old child. Granted, Phoenix still took a range of detours during their walks back to campus, but 1) Oriel was keeping a closer eye on the Korean boy and 2) Phoenix was getting better about speaking up and asking when his eye caught something that demanded his attention. Like the ice-cream truck. Hell, they could even make it routine to stop the guy at the same time every day just to satisfy Phoenix’s impulse cravings. They probably would again today.

Oriel had made it a habit of showing up about 15 minutes early to the pet store, before Phoenix was let go for the evening. He didn’t want to risk the possibility of Phoenix being released early without Oriel knowing and then having the boy wander off in some sudden willful refusal to wait. But today….fuck. It was just his luck that that woman happened to be showing up at the exact same time Oriel did. He locked eyes on her and continued forward, not missing a beat or a step as he approached the pet shot.

He snorted as he arched his head up slightly, irritated that this bitch was taller than him…fake tallness, she’d never have come close to Oriel if it weren’t for those ugly stilettos she was wearing. He wished blisters upon her every toe.

As she spat out her “courteous” request, Oriel sneered and stuck his forefinger in his nostril, digging out the really good golden crusties. “Yeah,” he said, pulling out a decent sized dragon. “And?” He flicked it in her direction.

[Percie Hobbes]

She deserved to be nominated for saint hood as she calmly pulled a tissue out of her bag and detached the digesting present that Oriel had flung on her shirt. Luckily, she had a naturally strong stomach and experience with all sorts of bodily fluids being on her person. Being puked on by several drunk people over the years (not always friends and not always criminals), trying desperately to stop someone from bleeding out while some shaken newbie pissed himself behind her. There was also that one time...Percie decided she didn't want to think about the day that all her luck just hadn't been with her. She still had nightmares about what happened...the jumper. Then of course there had been the day she'd been shot and she imagined that when she eventually had children she would need to contend with their involuntary bodily functions until they were old enough to take care of those things themselves.

Her eyes narrowed coldly at Oriel. "How do you function as a member of society?" she asked rhetorically with a long-suffering sigh. "Anyway I'd rather not do this in the middle of the sidewalk so I have a proposition for you," she opened her purse and pulled out a $50 bill. "Come back to my office with me to have a small chat and you'll get this. Finish chatting with me and I'll give you another," she offered. "So you can come with me, take it and be on your way, or humor me for a bit and walk away with double your money. You don't even have to pay attention to what I have to say, you just have to stay for the whole thing..." she offered, holding the money just out of his reach. Even if Oriel was suspicious of her flippant attitude, cash was cash right? She was confident that once she got him where she wanted him, what she had to say would get his attention whether he wanted it to or not.

[Deleted]

Oriel had to hand it to her,most adults would have started raging and lecturing at him for an assault of that nature. He could usually rile up a good teacher or two with his blatant disrespect, though not without a detention or two. Though it was a little unsettling how confrontational this wench seemed to be. While he could respect people with nerves of steel, who were able to fight back, especially in an effective manner, it was incredibly irritating when nothing you did seemed to take any effect on them either. Oriel didn’t mind taking damage as long as he could inflict it just as well…preferably inflicting more than he received. Because Oriel hated losing. While not competitive by nature, at least not in the way they expected for things like sports, Oriel had a decent amount(or an overabundance) of pride, which he did not appreciate being stripped from him by senseless twats who assumed that they knew anything and everything there was to know about him.

Oriel met her eyes with an equally chilled stare. He smirked at her “rhetorical” question. “I don’t,” he admitted. After all, he was only 17 and hadn’t even managed a job yet. And likely wouldn’t at this rate. “It’s a surprise that the school even lets me stick around.” It was a surprise the school hadn’t locked him up yet, though he had been confined to campus before. Not exactly something to be proud of, but he’d take it.

Oriel’s smirk dropped into a confused scowl as the woman produced an interestingly large bill. His eyes narrowed as she explained her proposition. And of course his first thought was, she really is a pedo, trying to lure me to her office with money so she can seduce a minor. The smirk returned as this occurred to him. But still…she had a point, money was money. However… “Excuse me for being suspicious,” he started as “courteously” as he could manage, crossing his arms and holding one out like a high-end diplomat, “But as far as I've seen, you’ve showed a very bad habit of approaching young men in the middle of the street to take back to your “private areas”.” He snickered at the implication. “What guarantee do I got that you ain’t going to chloroform me once we get there?” Oriel definitely thought there was some sort of catch, but….well, with that kind of money, Oriel could buy Phoenix a new collar. Like one of those comfortable leather kind lined with a soft felt and embroidered with his name or something.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie rolled her eyes and stared at Oriel as if he was a moron. "Firstly, I "approached" your very legal boyfriend when he was being assaulted by a drug dealer in an alleyway. Secondly, I have absolutely no interest in keeping you any longer than I have to. Chloroforming you, unfortunately for me, would mean having to put up with your irritating, unconscious ass until you wake up. I can assure you that the thought of you awake and the thought of you "knocked out" are both equally unappealing. I can't make you trust me Oriel but for the love of Ceasar Salad can you PLEASE stop fighting me every step of the way? We've met ONCE, I showed absolutely NO sign of harming Phoenix or yourself in the short time you met and insulted me. Is it too much to ask that you just come along?" she asked, genuinely tired and curious.

"Think of it this way. I'm willing to pay you a hundred dollars to just come and let me speak at you. So either what I have to say is important or you just irritate me so much that the only way I feel I can get you do to anything is to bribe you. Honestly I'm of the opinion that bribing you is the only way to gain compliance. Technically you'd make an excellent narc if you ever descend into a life of crime." Percie said IF instead of WHEN because she still believed that there was hope for Oriel to pull himself out of whatever self-destructive path he'd set himself on. She doubted he'd realize this though as he was most likely trying to figure out what other buttons of hers he could possibly push. She wished she could say that she had met someone so irritating before but Oriel managed to share personality traits of no less than seven of her most "less than savory" criminal acquaintances. On one hand it was impressive, on the other, it make her want to put him in a headlock until he passed out and dump him into a pile of trash down some back alley. Not hurt him of course…she just wanted him to stink for a bit. Her petty, teenage self was rearing her head again and Percie had to remind herself firmly that she was so far out of high school she was old enough to have elementary school kids.

[Deleted]

Oriel “listened” to the the wench as she droned on and on in her lecture. Nothing he hadn’t heard before, yada yada, honestly the more she tried to argue the more Oriel thought she was just being more and more suspicious. Doth protest too much, or something. “Maaybe,” he drawled out like a child. “Just ‘cause you didn’t do nothing then, don’t mean nothing. For all I know you’re just trying to gain my trust so you shove it back in my face and laugh like the damn hyena you are.” And like so many other bitches had done to him in the past. Get close just so they can get a chance to hit him where it really hurts. Well, not this Oriel, nope, she wasn’t going to get Oriel to drop his guard with a couple of (deliciously-looking) fifty dollar bills.

Good God! Did this woman never shut up!? It’s like she loved the sound of her own voice!? (Well, Oriel was the same way.) But Oriel was starting to get the feeling that she also just got some jolly-good jollies from lecturing people, especially people that she hardly knew! (granted, he hardly knew her, but that wasn’t the point!) The point was that this was Oriel and he was right and she was wrong and he could judge but she couldn’t! So there!

Speaking of judging…Did she just assume that …?

Oriel’s troll face slipped away as the woman stepped on a particularly sensitive land mine. While she hadn’t been wrong, that Oriel was searching and surveying her to find out which buttons set her off the most, Percie had inadvertently pushed one of his own.

Fine. No more games. “Shut the fuck up, you pretentious wench,” he spat with ten times the animosity he had just a moment ago. “You’re right. I don’t know you, but just the same, you don’t know shit about me. So how ‘bout we deal. I don’t judge you no more, you don’t fucking decide what I am for me.” She may have been taller than him at the moment, but Oriel still leaned menacingly forward. “Now…why don’t we go back to whatever place you want me to follow you - I’ll give you a little listen - then when we’re done, I’m gonna shove that hundred dollars right up your rancid cunt. Capisce?”

[Percie Hobbes]

Oooooohhhhh she hit a button hadn't she? It took all her self-control to not croon in triumph. She was still immature enough at times to not enjoy when she pissed off someone who was making her life difficult, even if that person was a seventeen-year-old boy. She sincerely hoped that this was not something that would happen once she started fostering children and they turned out to be difficult. Maybe it would be different since she would actually be responsible for that child rather than Oriel, hanging around her target and potentially endangering him.

Barely suppressing a smirk, Percie turned and walked back towards her office. As she walked she could see the plans changing and evolving in her head. At first all she had wanted to do was yell at him a little bit about Phoenix and putting him in a leash but now she wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him. Maybe they could come to an understanding about appropriate behavior and she could pay him to stay out of her hair when she needed to question his boyfriend. Maybe...he seemed super pissy about being likened to a narc, or descending into a life of crime, Percie couldn't figure out which had offended him more and assumed it was the narc comment. Perhaps it was bad for her, who normally saw the best in people to assume the worst of one so young but...she had experienced so many difficult things since she had graduated from the police academy that she had difficulty disconnecting at times. Which was bad (she was more than aware of that and worked hard not to be that way) since she wanted to be able to take people at face value (especially kids) and assume that they were good.

Then she remembered what Oriel had spat about her lady bits and resolved to wash his mouth out with soap if she could wrestle him close enough to a sink. It was a thankfully short walk to her office and she unlocked and opened the door, leading the way into her office. As much as she would have liked to approach this subject in a more familiar setting, she didn’t want to tempt the creativity of Oriel’s mouth if she dared bring him upstairs. So she showed him back into the office and shooed Watson out with her foot through the door so that he could find his way into the back part of the house through his cat door. After tossing her things onto her desk she sat on it casually and motioned to the well-worn winged back chair a few feet away. “Have a seat,” she offered.

[Deleted]

Oriel was positively livid.

He didn’t know what the fuck this bitch’s deal was - Oriel assumed she just got off on sticking her nose into other people’s business - but it was also clear that she had some sort of self-righteous rant prepared for the young boy that she’d already taken the liberty of labeling as a no-good deviant who would only ever amount to living in a life of crime and drugs. If she’d bothered to know anything at all about Oriel(how could she, she was too busy judging him based on absolutely nothing!) then she’d find out that Oriel hated drugs, with a passion. He and Phoenix had gone through too much shit together for him to fall into that sort of hole again. Again, because even before Phoenix, Oriel had gone through his very own personal hell while being caught up in the pace of the street gangs he followed around like a fucking puppy when he was younger. Oriel did not like being reminded of those times and was furious that she even insinuated that he’d even be associated with that kind of life, now or in the future.

Who the fuck was she to judge? he thought as he burned holes into her back, following her in a slow, boiling steam back to her oh-so-fancy office where she no doubt had some holier-than-thou lecture for him waiting just because he….fuck! Oriel didn’t eve know what he did to give her the impression that he was nothing but a fucking bagger! Oriel was an asshole, he’d own up to that because it was true. He had a smart mouth, he was confrontational and questioned the authority of people who would only bark out rules and principles because they had the power to do so and not because they actually gave a shit. Like because they said it, it negated anything else that might be wrong, and if he didn’t kiss their fucking shoe like a good boy, then it meant he was destined only for a life of the no-good and irredeemable.

Seriously, what the fuck did she know, this woman had probably never experienced a hard day in her life. An ignorant wench like this was probably raised on sunshine and lollipops and taught that anything less than that wasn’t even deserved of her attention, growing up in one of those so-called “loving” homes that taught you only how to look down on those less fortunate than yourself and assume that anyone who didn’t live in a fucking mansion and who had to hunt for their meal everyday in the streets of the city and had to fucking watch their back everywhere they turned because some asshole with a gun might shoot you for banging his girlfriend was obviously something less than human and didn’t deserve to be given a fair shot. Either that, or was someone who deserved their hypocritical pity because they didn’t grow up riding in a fucking Mercedes with a goddamn chauffeur to some ritzy private school.

Fucking prissy bitch. So of course because she came from “better stock” that meant that everything that she thought was right and just was the only way it could be, sending her on a mission to reform the poor delinquent boy who flicked a fucking booger at her and called her a cunt.

By the time they reached the office, Oriel already wanted to throw something, feeling absolutely sick that this bitch just had to be showing off her fancy-smancy office where she was planning to rehabilitate the poor misguided boy who had obviously never been given a good talking to. He growled at her “kind” offer. “I’ll stand,” he snarled venemously, crossing his arms over his torso in a defensive posture. “So can we get this over with already? Let’s hear this “life changing” lecture you got for me, I’m sure this one is going to make me see the light and finally turn me into a real boy, with legs and arms and maybe even grow my heart three full sizes.” Oriel snorted defiantly. “Cuz I’m obviously nothing but a no-good piece of shit to you. That sound ‘bout right?” The New Yorker spoke heavy, sharply, like he did back on the hostile streets of the big city. Oriel narrowed his eyes, shooting daggers at the pretentious twat across from him.

[Percie Hobbes]

Something in her snapped. She normally has such a good hold on her temper, much better than when she was younger. Though she was also willing to admit that her younger self would have already figured out how to knock Oriel down three ways to Sunday before beating the shit out of him for calling her anything more than a bitch. Honestly cunt was a bit of an overkill wasn't it? Her eyes narrowed at his venomous words and she rose from leaning against her desk back to the full height that her heels allowed her.

"You're making an awful lot of assumptions about what's going on through my head Oriel. Where the hell do you get off accusing me of anything when YOUR god damn behavior leads those around you to believe that you're that 'no-good, piece of shit,' they assume you are?!" the angry hiss these words were delivered on did not feel good. Percie's gut clenched. So what, she wanted to help him, that made her a bad person? She hated this, she hated being in a position to help, she hated wanting to help when it was more than obvious that she would end up being the bad guy in the end. There was always someone more jaded to question her motives, to drag her name through the mud, to accuse her of all the shit she thought was unfair about the world, and then there were groups to protest against the job she did, people more than happy to lump her in with those who abused their power.

She couldn't win and in that dark part of her that was so fed up with injustice, with the unfairness, with the assumptions it was more than happy to lash out at the closest source of that irritation...and in that deep, dark part of herself, it felt good.

[Deleted]

Oriel was upset enough that he wasn’t thinking straight, as he typically did when he was tipping over the edge of his reason. He wasn’t hearing straight, it was a miracle he’d even managed to follow the bitch as far as he did to her office without snapping into his verbal lashes again, though that clearly only held up until they were “comfortably” inside her “domain”. Once safely behind closed doors, Oriel gave no hesitation in engaging, daring her to give him a reason unleash the rest of his billowing wrath right in her face.

In all honesty, and Oriel probably didn’t even realize it himself, but he was…hoping that maybe she’d say something to denounce what his impressions of her already were. And in a way, she did. But it was all for naught, the harshly offered sentiment completely erased once she finally finished her little hypocritical rant and proved that…he was right. She was right. And it hurt.

Oriel’s jaw clenched as the words tore through him like a blunted razor, forcing their way under his skin and pulling away at exactly what he didn’t want to hear about himself. He didn’t give her a chance to follow up.

“Well, excuse me for being born a fucking no-good piece of shit!” he screamed, his face beginning to burn a fiery red in his rage. “Excuse me for being the kind of trash that nobody wants to be around, no matter what the fuck I do!!” Oriel grabbed something - he didn’t see what it was - and launched it in her direction. Then he found something else to throw. And another. “I’m. So. Sorry that my existence has been such a burden on you!” Oriel heard the sound of things crashing as they were catapulted across the room, but if he registered their meaning, the rage-filled boy gave no indication.

“You don’t know!!” he shouted down at the woman who was no longer standing. “You don’t know shit about me or anything of the shit me, or Phoenix, or anybody else have gone through. So take your middle class, god fucking morals and shove them up that scrawny, white-washed hiney of yours!! Cuz it ain’t matter how much we try, you still going to have just one more thing t’say! Ain’t ya!? Ain’t ya!?” Oriel screamed again, his lungs burning under every quick breath with a shudder, his limbs quaking down to their very bones as adrenaline rushed out into his every fingertip. “Speak up, you fucking woman!! Ain’t ya got something t’say!? Whore!?”

Oriel kicked something, he wasn’t sure what it was. But when he blinked again, he stared down at the woman who had yet to move, a new wave of emotion starting to well up inside of him. He swallowed, but all the fluid in the world could not get rid of the sandpaper that now lined his throat. And with it still choking him, Oriel could not hope to speak.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie had been quite bewildered when Oriel had started screaming at her. She had started to try and say something to calm him down, but it was immediately apparent that she would just need to wait him out. She stood there as calmly as she could as he began flinging things at her in addition to whatever vitriol was in his system. She had been fairly successful in avoiding his projectiles until one of them managed to strike her injured shoulder. She tried to absorb the pain by stepping back but her heel caught on a piece of debris. With an awkward squawk she toppled over, and for the sake of preservation decided to stay there.

Eventually the volley of verbal abuse stopped along with the destruction of her office and she counted to one hundred before deeming it safe enough to move again. She winced a bit as her bruised shoulder protested but was able to right herself quickly in spite of it. She turned quickly in case she had to sdefemd against a still seething teenager but found him just standing there, seemingly staring off into space and looking suitably upset. Percie decided that her best bet was to go back into peace-keeper mode since her own loss of temper had sparked his somehow.

"Oriel?" She ventured soothingly as she carefully approached the teen. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" She asked with very genuine concern. He'd hurled an aweful lot of things at her and some of them had been heavy (and expensive). Since she got no response she decided to continue with reassurances. "Oriel? You didn't hurt me, I'm okay. I'm not angry. I'm sorry I yelled at you, that was wrong of me." She should have held her temper better, she was the adult here, which meant she was mature enough to pinpoint the possible problem and rectify it. She carefully eased into his line of sight and kept her hands up towards her waist in case he tried to attack her. It wasn't the best position but she didn't want to potentially spook him by making him believe she was going to attack him.

[Deleted]

Oriel couldn’t move. The rage was still there, but he couldn’t move. He felt like he was tied up, restrained by one of his own ropes, kept from being able to move either froward or backward. Bound so tight that he couldn’t even manage enough room to struggle and try to break free. He wasn’t sure he was even registering anything he was seeing, the feminine figure that was slowly moving through the destruction, like he’d been blindfolded to the scene that was left in the wake of his violent outburst.

He didn’t hear the voice that was calling to him either…no he did…didn’t he? Oriel blinked, keeping his focus on one single point in space. What was he looking at? As it slowly came back into focus, he felt his muscles relax and crumble under themselves, making the large boy stumble backwards into the wall behind him where he slid to the ground. As he did, he felt the wetness build in his eyes until it spilled over and trailed down his cheeks to his chin. His breathing had quickened, becoming short and shuddered. Oriel opened his mouth as his eyes panned across the cluttered room, but he could find no words to offer to the woman. What was he supposed to say?

"...I...I want Phoenix..." was all he could manage.

[Percie Hobbes]

Percie didn't really think it was wise to call Phoenix at the moment and opted for what her gut was telling her to do. Very carefully she eased down to his level, heels kicked off as she scooted forward. She didn't know how it started but there seemed to be a very disturbing co census that most cops were bastards. Percie had met some, but most were just good men and women trying to make a difference. Somewhere along the line Oriel had been hurt somehow. She knew she couldn't magically make it better but she didn't want him to assume that he was a lost cause. She didn't believe that about anyone.

To that end she set aside the detective, set aside the former cop. It was easy to use what was left, that part of her that wanted to mother and love. She reached forward, stilling when Oriel flinched before continuing, thumbs gently brushing against his cheeks to dry his eyes before her arms reached around to hold him. She eased herself along side him and drew him closer, fingers combing through his hair while she cooed at him gently. "It's okay, everything's going to be alright," she murmured. Resting her cheek against his forehead, fingers still combing, voice still soothing. She didn't ask him to stop crying or to be stronger, she let him cry because he needed to know that was okay.

This might come back to bite her later and her former partner always used to say that she cared too much, but she knew the guilt inside would gnaw at her if she had let this boy think for even just a moment that he was unwanted and uncared for. So she sat there, with her arms around a boy who'd crashed into her life unexpectedly and let him cry.

[Deleted]

What had he done what had he done? Oriel felt like he was waking up from a nightmare. It was always like this, every single time. Like someone had flipped a switch, powering him on full blast until his brain short circuited from the surge and he finally stopped, leaving him…broken. Confused. Suffering.

In chaos.

Why did this shit keep happening?

He struggled to keep his breathing, to keep his hands from shaking. Oriel needed Phoenix. Phoenix would know what to do. He wouldn’t judge him, wouldn’t berate him, wouldn’t blame him…Oriel was doing quite a job of doing that all by himself, without anybody else’s help. He didn’t know why people always felt like they had to point out what he already knew, and make him feel worse for it. That’s exactly what Percie was going to do, wasn’t it? She hated him already, so why should Oriel expect anything less than more contempt from her.

Oriel couldn’t help but flinch when she moved in, unsure of what her intentions were, but nonetheless allowed her to continue, his muscles tensing in his uncertainty. As her hold tightened, he relaxed more into her arms, slowly raising one hand to grip onto the fabric of her shirt that was no doubt getting wet from his tears. I’m sorry, he wanted to say. He wasn’t sure he could though. She probably wouldn’t believe him anyway.

He stayed like that for a long time, it seemed, until his breathing started to steady out and his heart stopped thrumming in his chest. His eyes had closed at some point, but he was still awake, enjoying the warmth of the woman holding him. Oriel was feeling better.

Cupping his hand over her ass was indicative of that.

[Percie Hobbes]

He was groping her. Percie was sure it was an accident at first but his hand didn't move and she was getting really uncomfortable. "Alright Honey," she finally chuckled when it finally sank in that a seventeen-year-old-boy was groping her. "That's enough of that," She gripped his wrist gently but firmly and moved it away from her posterior as she pulled away, one hand still resting on his shoulder as her other hand released his wrist and brushed some hair out of his face. His eyes were red from crying and he looked deflated. "Hey," she smiled at him, voice soft. "Are you okay?" she asked finally after a few more moments of silence had passed.

She sat with him, hands finally leaving his shoulder and his face to rest in her lap, her posture relaxed. "That was quite a make-over you gave my office," she grinned. "I didn't like any of those things anyway," she shrugged. It was mostly true, a lot of them were just old brick-a-brack, she should really cut down on the amount she had anyway. "And don't grope me again, my butt is bigger than your boyfriend's and I don't want him getting jealous," she winked.